Direst Cruelty
by labyrinths
Summary: Cersei/Stannis. It could actually work. One-shot. AU.


**Direst Cruelty**

"If not Renly, Your Grace, join forces with Robb Stark," Davos says.

Cersei looks at Stannis Baratheon, her husband, standing so proud. Watches him tense, righteous fury cursing through his body. He turns around, gives Davos a withering look.

Cersei smirks, amused by the sight.

It is not love that unites them.

Not that love is necessary. It is a frivolous thing, a bit of frippery. She once loved Rhaegar and she once loved Jaime, but that was long ago. Though now, in retrospect, she wonders if that was even love to begin with. Rhaegar seems to her now a mirage. Jaime a diversion.

No, it is not love. Stannis is a difficult man to love. Impossible, even.

He is harsh as stone, jagged like the cliffs of Casterly Rock. But then her father was similar in this respect, an iron lion. A great man. And she glimpses in her husband such possibilities, the edge of greatness. The edge of power.

She didn't always see him in this way. When her father announced that they were to be wed she cried a river of tears, shred her dresses with her bare hands. Wed to the king's brother. His brother! No crown for her and instead of the jolly roar of the black-haired king she was to spend her days in the cold embrace of his sour sibling.

She hated Stannis at first.

But misery brought them together. For he was as miserable as her, his anger red hot beneath his dignified face. Passed over by his brother, passed over by the world. An accomplished commander and warrior having to exist under the shadow of the Pig King, who piled praise upon the shoulders of other men.

Cersei understood the nature of venom, the taste of salt upon wounds.

He was not handsome, not even in his youth. Strong and tall, yes, but his cheeks were too hollow, his lips thin. But look what became of Robert. And Jaime is still handsome, but faithless: married for years and years, never sparing Cersei a thought.

"Joffrey, Renly, Robb Stark they're all thieves, they will bend the knee or I will destroy them," Stannis replies. "I've always served thieves according to their deserts, as you well know."

Davos shoots her a pleading look. Cersei and Davos do not always agree on a number of matters, but they have come to a tacit understanding. Davos is, after all, loyal and reliable, qualities she can appreciate. And Davos realizes that Cersei is no simpering fool, that she has perfected the art of manipulation and wields a formidable amount of power when it comes to her husband's dealings. So they remain, for the most part, allies.

She approaches Stannis from behind, places her hands upon her husband's shoulders.

"That is true my lord, and yet caution must be exercised. The crown lays within our grasp. We must not misplace it."

"The crown is mine by right," Stannis says, turning his head, bristling at her words.

Cersei smiles at him. A practiced smile that she has had a chance to perfect after all these years and she speaks, her words honeyed.

"And you shall have it."

_And I shall be queen_, she thinks. For she recognizes now that life has been preparing her for this very moment, step by step. That disappointment and sorrow served to forge her. That she is now ready. Ready to sit by her husband's side and rule the seven kingdoms.

His side.

Not beneath him or behind him, but to his right.

Robert Baratheon would have put her beneath him, would have shoved her into a corner, but this man is not Robert Baratheon.

Her father promised her a crown but it is Stannis who will deliver it.

And he shall crown her even if he must slice the kingdom in half with his sword, painting a trail of red onto the iron throne.

Her brother promised her eternal devotion.

But it is Stannis who will prove the truth of his words with blood and iron.

It is not love that unites them.

It is righteous fury. And it is sweeter than any kiss.

Note: So...I know it sounds far-fetched but since Stannis seems to not mind pretty women in power I think this might actually work. Cersei would have to learn to be smarter in order to deal with a guy like Stannis and perfect her manipulation. Stannis would get a woman much more to his taste. Sure, the kingdom might be reduced to ashes but they'd be a power couple.


End file.
